Rueben's Ramblings

Hey All,

Here are the news items for today:

TELEVISION

CBS has officially cancelled drama Unforgettable after three seasons. (TV By the Numbers)

Actor Wilson Bethel (Hart of Dixie) has joined the cast of the upcoming ABC drama The Astronaut Wives Club, which is based on thee Lily Koppel book of the same name. The series tells the real story of the women who stood beside some of the biggest heroes in American history during the height of the space race. Bethel will play Scott Carpenter, the most laid-back of the astronauts and husband to Rene Carpenter (Yvonne Strahovski from Chuck). He will juggle both his role on Hart of Dixie and this ABC drama since both shows have a 10-episode order each. (Nellie Andreeva at Deadline)

Actor Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) has joined the cast of the upcoming drama The Messengers that will air on The CW sometime next year. The show tells the story of five strangers affected when a mysterious object hits Earth. After collapsing, all five individuals come back to life just hours later with inexplicable powers, including strength and the power to heal. But once things begin to become clearer, those affected realize that they might be Earth’s only hope for stopping the Rapture or perhaps, they’re causing it. Bamber will have the recurring role of Vincent Plowman, the unapologetically aggressive co-chairman of Plowman Family Farms, one of the world’s most successful agricultural companies. Along with his older brother Mark, he is the face of a business on the cutting edge of new farming technology that has the potential of eliminating draught and famine worldwide. But in the end, Vincent’s favored son status may uproot his ambitious plans in more ways than one. Actor Riley Smith (True Blood) has also joined the show where he will play Mark Plowman, Vincent’s brother, who is a quiet, salt of the earth type of man you would expect to find walking the fields, not sitting in the boardroom of a powerful farming business. But as a family man, his heart is usually in the right place—especially when it comes to pioneering new ways to feed the world. But the shadow cast by his charismatic and outgoing younger brother has planted some deep resentment along the way that may destroy a lot more than the next harvest. The series is set to star Shantel VanSanten, Jon Fletcher, Sofia Black-D’Elia, JD Pardo, Joel Courtney, Anna Diop, and Diogo Morgado. (Samantha Highfill at Entertainment Weekly)

Gotham has received a full season order from Fox for its freshman season. (Variety)

MINI-SERIES NEWS

Actor Sam Neill (Alcatraz and Jurassic Park) has joined the cast of the upcoming 4-hour mini-series The Dovekeepers based on the Alice Hoffman acclaimed historical novel about four extraordinary women whose lives intersect in a fight for survival at the siege of Masada. Neill will play Josephus, the somewhat controversial first-century Jewish scholar and historian. Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are behind this project that will air on CBS in 2015. (The Deadline Team)

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Here are the top 10 box office movies for the past weekend courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1. Gone Girl – 26.8 million
2. Dracula Untold – 23.4 million
3. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day – 19.1 million
4. Annable – 16.3 million
5. The Judge – 13.3 million
6. The Equalizer – 9.7 million
7. Addicted – 7.6 million
8. The Maze Runner – 7.5 million
9. The Boxtrolls – 6.7 million
10. Left Behind – 2.9 million

Q&A SECTION (with Natalie Abrams at Entertainment Weekly)

Question: Will we see Tom Keen for real on The Blacklist? — Holden

Natalie: Word on the street is that we’ll see him in the flesh soon. But what’s really interesting is that he may find some new allies in a case of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Though the terms “enemy” and “friend” are used very loosely on this show since I hear Red and Berlin might actually team up at some point.

Question: I can’t believe Oliver and Felicity aren’t going to be together. Can you give this Arrow fan any hope? — Tina

Natalie: Executive producer Marc Guggenheim stresses that you should look at that first kiss-turned break up scene at the hospital as the first of a two-parter, which will continue in episode 2. “This is not the last time we’ll hear the words ‘I love you’ in connection with Oliver and Felicity,” he says. “The repercussions of that scene and that storyline in episode one, that’s going to follow them over the course of season 3. It’s not over. We didn’t just hit pause or reset on their relationship. This is just a development in an ongoing relationship for them.”

That’s it. Enjoy!